


Getting Through

by randoyoyo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Comfort, Domestic Boyfriends, M/M, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:53:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randoyoyo/pseuds/randoyoyo
Summary: Remus has been acting quite down recently and Sirius wants to help him in any way he can.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 50
Collections: Wolfstar Games 2020





	Getting Through

**Author's Note:**

> My team was touch!  
> Prompt: (Text 24) The two words ‘information’ and ‘communication’ are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through. - Sydney J. Harris

He was pulling away again.

Remus was pulling into himself, reaching out less, and Sirius didn’t know what to do.

When Sirius needed to run errands he’d ask Remus if he wanted to join, but he would say he had things to do. Upon returning home, though? He’d be in exactly the same spot he’d left him in—blanket wrapped and on the sofa.

He needed to do something. This was his boyfriend, and even more than that, just his  _ best _ friend. His person. The one being in the whole world he adored more than any other.

So Sirius absolutely had to fix it.

Remus said no to going out? Okay, he’d bring the outside in.

He set up a picnic in the living room one day and invited Lily and James over for a game night another and even tried getting a small collection of different booze to pretend he was a bartender.

Remus would roll his eyes or give a small smile and participate when he was forced to. But it wasn’t working. He still wasn’t  _ Remus _ .

Well, okay then. It must call for more drastic measures. Maybe he didn’t need the outside to come in.

Was there a way to force Remus out?

That didn’t seem like a good idea. But maybe there was something he could try?

“Remus,” he started, hoping this bait would work. “I’m not feeling that great today. Don’t think I’ll be able to get the groceries.”

He just stayed sitting, barely shifting his eyes up to Sirius in return. “S’okay. We don’t need ‘em today. They can wait.”

_ Seriously? _ Sirius thought. He was usually the lazy one. Not that this was an act of laziness, obviously there was something beyond that going on here. But Sirius didn’t think he would brush off the task like that. Remus would normally have been able to make the conclusion that Sirius wanted him to go instead, and even if it were reluctant, he’d offer to make the trip.

So gentle tricking was a no-go.

He started bringing up the weather more. On a nice, sunny day he’d mention the warmth the sun brought to his skin. On a day when the sky was covered in clouds, he would bring up how the breeze felt good flowing through his hair.

Still nothing. There was no curiosity on Remus’s part to feel those acts of nature himself.

Well, then perhaps day time was the issue.

So, when the sun went down and the moon and stars started showing, Sirius would inch his way towards the sofa. A nice little stroll? A blanket to stretch out on? An offer to point out each of the constellations that corresponded to his family and a chance to make fun of each person they represented along the way?

Nothing. No interest. Always some form of dismissal or another.

Sirius was running out of options. He couldn’t think of what else to try. Nothing was working. He could talk to Remus, but it didn’t feel like he was getting through to him.

He understood this wasn’t something Remus could control. He knew it wasn’t something that was ‘just a problem to be fixed’ or something that could go away if he found the right combination of words. But Remus seemed so down, that he wanted to try to make it even the slightest bit better for him. To ease his troubles in any way possible.

But try as he did, over and over, idea upon idea, it wasn’t enough. Or it wasn’t what was right for Remus, rather.

He didn’t want to give up. But he didn’t know what else to do. So, he walked over to Remus. Nudged his feet over long enough for him to sit and put them back down on his lap. If he wasn’t going to be able to  _ do _ anything to help Remus, then he would just sit here with him. Any connection at all to let him know he was there for him.

Feet became shins. Then knees. Then the whole leg. Remus was sliding down the sofa, in ever so slow increments, to put more of his body onto Sirius’s lap. Sirius was ecstatic.

Remus was moving, on his own, in an effort to be closer to him. There was something there. Certainly not a cure, that wasn’t possible or even needed. But it was a change, nonetheless.

He needed Remus to understand that he was here for him. That this would be something he could get through.

So he started a new routine. Instead of looking for things to do or say, he would offer touch.

Walking by him in the morning would earn a kiss to his head. Ranting a monologue, Sirius could stand behind the sofa and massage Remus’s shoulders to keep his hands busy. Throughout the day he would stop and sit. And each time, Remus would shift. Closer, different angles, multiple positions, until finally the breakthrough.

Also known as one of Sirius’s favourite moments. He’d sat at the end of the sofa, as he had been, when Remus didn’t just shift. He completely sat up and then laid back down with his head in Sirius’s lap. Not only was it a better way to see him up close, but he could thread his fingers through Remus’s hair and press kisses to his forehead all the while.

That’s how they continued. Touches, affirmations, nothing that needed to be said. Sirius did everything he could to reassure Remus that he wasn’t going anywhere and that it wasn’t a burden—it was his choice.

Slowly, Remus came back to himself. Again, Sirius was aware that this wasn’t the first or last time this would happen and it wasn’t considered a solution. But in some way it helped. And he was happy to do it.

Even as Remus moved around more and started joining him at Lily and James’s house and life continued on, Sirius made sure that a hand of his was connected to Remus in some way throughout the day.

And on the night when they sat on a blanket outside underneath the stars, legs entwined and hands clasped, Sirius knew. Remus looked over at him, silent, and squeezed his hand tight. Sirius knew, and it was two-fold: that Remus understood and appreciated their new way of communicating, and that someday soon Sirius would need to buy a ring.

**Author's Note:**

> **Mod Note**
> 
> Please vote on this work! [VOTING FORM](https://forms.gle/VVwLLLApYNRuxqV39)


End file.
